[Drama Recap] Love Rain Episode 16

Here we recap and discuss episode 16 of Love Rain. Caution, spoilers below. Don’t read if you don’t want to know what happens.

As Joon leans in to kiss Ha Na, she gives him no resistance. However, she pulls back immediately after and goes back inside, locking the door behind her. Joon immediately takes the stairs down and goes looking for her. When he catches her, he asks her what she’s so afraid of. Ha Na says she’s afraid of herself and she does still want to hug him and be with him. She admits that she lied about wanting to be family, saying that she did so that she’d still at least be able to see him. However, despite how she feels, they still can’t be together. Ha Na says that it’s better for them to see other people and that it’ll be better for them if they just try to forget about each other. Yeah, cuz that worked out so well for your parents.

Speaking of the parents, we cut back to In Ha telling Yoon Hee that they should cancel the wedding because he can’t give up on Joon. Yoon Hee is understandably surprised, but is somewhat relieved and says that she thought it didn’t feel right to get married anyway. She saw how Joon acted at his dad’s birthday party and knows that In Ha’s not the type of person to let someone down, kind of like how he backed off for Dong Wook in college. It’s because he’s this type of person that she loves him. She tells him that she understands and to not worry about it too much. Looks like he’s really not going to tell her. Afterwards, the two go their separate ways and think things over. Yoon Hee stands up to wash their cups, but is overcome with emotion and weakness and drops them as she starts crying.

In Ha eventually shows up at Chang Mo’s cafe drunk off his ass. As he talks to Chang Mo, he mentions how love was the most important thing to them when they were younger, but that’s not the case anymore now that they’re older. Chang Mo is confused as to what In Ha is rambling about, and In Ha continually insists that he doesn’t want to give up. He then mentions something about not being able to go through with it after seeing Joon’s picture of Ha Na.

Back at his own cafe, Sun Ho is taste-testing beers, thinking what he would do in Joon and Ha Na’s position. He wonders to himself if he would just run away from home, but is overheard by Jeon Sul. He tells Sun Ho that running away isn’t an option and says that he overheard everything that Sun Ho’s been saying to himself, not realizing that Sun Ho was talking about someone else. Jeon Sul then sees Mi Ho and asks if she knows who her brother likes. This piques her curiosity and she comes over and asks if Joon came here. When Sun Ho says no, Mi Ho gets upset and suspects that he’s out with Ha Na somewhere.

When Ha Na gets back home, she’s not entirely surprised to see Tae Sung waiting for her. He asks why she was so late, and she covers by saying that she took the wrong bus. Tae Sung wants to talk, but Ha Na’s not exactly in the mood and tries to push it off until tomorrow. He doesn’t take no for an answer though and says that he’s going to get involved in her affairs, whether she likes it or not. Her happiness is important to him, and he’s worried because she’s only concerned with her mom and Joon’s feelings. If she won’t take care of herself, he’ll do it for her. Tae Sung then says that she should tell her mom that they’re going out. Uh, okay… Ha Na eventually makes it inside and checks in on her mom, who isn’t looking so hot.

Yoon Hee says that it’s probably just the flu, but Ha Na scolds her saying that she should’ve gone to the hospital if she was feeling sick or taken some medication. She tries to get her daughter to rest in her own room, but Ha Na insists on taking care of her mom. Ha Na says that her mom can’t get sick before the wedding, and seeing her concern, Yoon Hee decides not to tell her that it’s been called off.

The next day, Joon is in the middle of working when Mi Ho shows up again at the studio. He asks her why she’s here and she asks him how he’s going to make it up to her for blowing her off. Joon then straight up asks her if she wants to go out with him, saying that he feels like he should be dating someone right now. Everyone in the study is in completely shock, nobody more so than Mi Ho herself. This was exactly Joon’s plan though and he takes her silence as not being sincere about going out with him so she shouldn’t mess around like this anymore. Mi Ho eventually recovers and says to ask him out again, but Joon’s not giving her a second chance.

Ha Na has called out Sun Ho to a cafe, and he immediately asks if her mom is sick. She tells him that wasn’t why she asked to meet him, and that she just wanted to give him answers to some gardening questions he had. Sun Ho is persistent though and wants to know about how sick her mom was. Back at Sun Ho’s cafe, Jeon Sul finally gets to meet up with Joon. He asks Jeon Sul what he’s doing here, and isn’t happy to hear that Sun Ho hired him as the gardener. Jeon Sul then mentions to him that Sun Ho went to meet with Ha Na, saying that he was acting weird and left as soon as he heard that she was in the city. Joon immediately runs off to find them, with Mi Ho close behind.

He spots them inside a cafe, right as Sun Ho is telling Ha Na that he’s going to go give her mom a checkup tomorrow. Joon and Mi Ho quickly join them at their table, and he asks Ha Na why she’s here after saying that she wouldn’t come anymore and they should see other people. She tells him that she’s trying, which makes Mi Ho happily guess that she’s talking about Tae Sung. Sun Ho tries to extract himself and his sister out of the conversation, but Ha Na says she’s got nothing else to say anyway. Before she can leave though, Joon wants her to take off her couple ring. Ha Na is reluctant to do so and says that it has nothing to do with him. Joon says that’s fine since he threw his away anyway, which Ha Na clearly does not find amusing. That’s the last straw for her and she stands up to leave.

Joon storms out as well, but Sun Ho tells Joon that he should talk to Ha Na. Neither party wants to talk to the other though, and so Sun Ho says that he’ll go see Ha Na tomorrow. This gets Joon’s attention and he asks Sun Ho where he’s going. Sun Ho tells him that it’s his own business and to butt out, which surprises Joon. He then turns to Ha Na and says that they should at least eat together like they planned, but Ha Na says it’s okay. Joon then changes his mind and says that they should all have dinner together as brothers and sisters since it’s hard for them to meet up. Ha Na decides to take him up on his challenge and agrees to it. Just then, a bike drives by them and Joon swings Mi Ho out of the way, accidentally bumping Ha Na into the wall and scraping her arm. He goes to check on Ha Na, but Mi Ho notices it and fakes a foot injury so Joon will pay attention to her. Of course, Ha Ha is hurt that Joon would take Mi Ho’s side.

As Joon walks her to the nearby hospital, Mi Ho notices that he’s not actually paying attention to her and Joon figures out that she’s faking her injury. She tells him that it really did hurt though and guilts him into having lunch with her like he promised. Back at the cafe, while Sun Ho is cleaning Ha Na up, he tells her that Joon must have been panicking when he saw her get injured. Ha Na just smiles sadly at him though and quickly leaves. On her way out, she bumps into Jeon Sul who recognizes her, but can’t catch her. Sun Ho asks him how he knows Ha Na, and he tells her about how she cried at one of his songs. When Sun Ho says that that can’t be right since he’s not Joon, Jeon Sul realizes who the couple that Sun Ho was talking about earlier is.

Meanwhile, Mi Ho is trying to feed Joon some food, but he refuses. After the meal, Joon goes back to the cafe and is susrprised to see Ha Na standing there. She tells him that she’s angry at him for treating her badly for no reason. Joon doesn’t respond to her anger and instead asks how her wound is. He steps forward to check on it, but she recoils from him. Joon then tells Ha Na that he doesn’t know what to do whenever he sees her, and that they should just run away. Ha Na is speechless at this and decides to run away in tears. You’d think that In Ha would’ve mentioned to his son that he’s stepping aside for him by now.

Speaking of In Ha, he’s in his workshop when he hears a knock on the door. He goes to see who it is, and is surprised to find a drunk Joon stumble into his arms. Joon drunklenly rambles that he gave up on Ha Na because she wanted it, not because of his dad’s 30 year love. He asks his dad what’s so great about love that he couldn’t forget about it all this time. In Ha ignores the question and helps his son sit down. Once Joon is on the touch, In Ha then tells his son that it was just something precious to him. However, Joon takes offense to this since he never once visited him after the divorce. He says that it’s because of this precious love that Joon’s become like he has. When In Ha says that he didn’t mean to hurt anyone, Joon points out that he’s failed in that regard already since everyone’s hurt. Seriously? After all this, In Ha STILL doesn’t tell Joon? As he watches Joon sleep, In Ha whispers to his son how can he make him go through what he did.

The next moring, a hungover Joon stumbles out to his dad’s studio and tells him that he’s leaving. After Joon refuses his offer to have breakfast with him, In Ha tells him that he saw the picture that his son took of Ha Na. He was touched by it and asks for a favor: to take a picture of Yoon Hee and himself one day. Joon thinks his dad is asking for a wedding photo, but In Ha interrupts him and says that he could feel how much he loves Ha Na from the picture. Finally, he starts to tell Joon about him breaking up with Yoon Hee, but Joon interrupts him and says that it’s none of his dad’s business. Before In Ha can explain further, though, Joon just walks out on him.

Over at the resort, Yoon Hee is busy tending to the garden. Her friend comes and tells her that she got a message from the wedding venue about the rehearsal. Her friend is confused when Yoon Hee tells her to cancel it, but before she can ask for a reason, In Ha shows up. They go out to look at the sunset and reminice about watching the sunset together on the trip they took before In Ha’s big performance. He pulls a small box out of his bag and Yoon Hee is surprised to find the watch that he gave her all those years ago inside. In Ha says that he’s glad to be able to return it to her and to forgive him for leaving her twice like he is. After In Ha leaves, Yoon Hee sits crying by herself while reading the letter that he wrote to her. He thanks for her all the memories and says that he’ll cherish the fact that she was in his life.

Yoon Hee is clearly not feeling well and is having a hard time walking. Ha Na doesn’t notice this, however, and sneaks behind her mom, covers her eyes, and tells her to guess who it is. She jokes that the long fingers are pretty, but they’re so rough so they must belong to her daughter. Hah. Ha Na scoffs and says that her mom seems like she’s in a good mood, but then asks why In Ha hasn’t been coming around lately. She figures that they’d be busy planning the wedding. Yoon Hee says that he’s in New York right now and that she’ll come to Ha Na’s school to tell her something tomorrow. Ha Na tries to get her mom to tell her now, but Yoon Hee refuses.

That night, when Ha Na is working in the garden, she gets a text from Joon saying that he misses her. At the cafe, Joon is impatiently waiting for a response, and eventually Ha Na says that she misses him too. He starts to text that they should meet up, but decides against it. As he starts to go inside, he’s surprised to receive a call. Joon hesistates at first, but eventually the picks up.

The next day, the two of them meet and go inside a cafe to apparently meet with Yoon Hee. I thought it was Ha Na who called, but seems like it’s Yoon Hee. After they sit down, Yoon Hee says that she wanted Joon to hear from his dad, but he’ll be gone until next week. So rather than hearing about it from someone else, she wants to be the one to tell them that the wedding’s off. Ha Na is confused by their decision, saying that it they seemed so happy together, but Joon interrupts and asks if it was In Ha’s idea. Yoon Hee says that it’s not like that, but Ha Na’s not really listening and is only watching Joon’s face. After he leaves, Ha Na chases after him and asks if Joon told him about the two of them. Joon tells her though that his dad just found out. She asks him if In Ha cancelled the wedding because of two of them, and Joon says that it seems like it. Ha Na turns to go tell her mom, but Joon stops her since he’s sure that Yoon Hee doesn’t know yet.

The two of them then decide to go elsewhere to talk. Joon says that even if their parents get married, they still wouldn’t have stopped thinking about each other. Ha Na, however, is still focused on the fact that their parents broke up because of them. He tells her that she should just focus on them now and to focus on staying together.

Later, Ha Na talks with her mother in the garden. Yoon Hee tells him that while all In Ha thought of was her, she couldn’t say the same. She at least still thought about Ha Na and her dad. Ha Na points out that she still missed him, but Yoon Hee says that they were just memories. The more she thought about it and about Ha Na, the more Yoon Hee thought about In Ha’s family. If it made Joon and Hye Jung unhappy, she didn’t want to get married. She tells Ha Na that when she gets older, she’ll realize that sometimes being together as friends is better than being married. Ha Na can’t hold back her tears anymore, and starts crying while apologizing. Her mom is confused as to why she’s sorry, but Ha Na doesn’t explain and just apologizes again.

Joon is trying to call Ha Na, but she’s not picking up. Cho Soo then comes up to him and they leave to go on their photo shoot. Jeon Sul watches them and comments that Ha Na hasn’t picked up in a week. If it’s been that long, that means In Ha is back in town and on his way back from the hotel he gives someone a call to say he wants to meet up. At the same time, Hye Jung finds out about the wedding being called off. Mi Ho then walks in and notices that Hye Jung seems like she’s not feeling well. She tells Mi Ho that In ha called off the wedding, and Mi Ho panics and asks if it’s because of Joon. Hye Jung notices this and immediately asks Mi Ho about it, who realizes that she messed up.

Joon still can’t get ahold of Ha Na on the phone, so he tells Cho Soo to cancel the photo shoot and turn the car around. Cho Soo hesitates at first, but eventually drives Joon to the resort. As he watches Joon sprint away, he clapses his hands and wishes him good luck. LOL.

As Yoon Hee is busy working, her vision starts to blur again. She’s relieved when things go back to normal and sees that In Ha is standing there. When then cut to Hye Jung telling Chang Mo on the phone that since In Ha is out of town, she has to at least hear it from Yoon Hee as well. Uh oh. This can’t end well.

Meanwhile, Ha Na gets another call from Joon and just stares at her phone. Joon’s voices suddenly rings out, asking her if she’s going to keep ignoring his calls. He asks her if she really has nothing to say to him, and Ha Na finally admits that she wants to be with him. After hearing that, Joon has a relieved look on his face and immediately goes to hug her. Ha Na is relieved as well and hugs him back. The two are smiling as they run away, but are spotted from below by Hye Jung.

Final Thoughts

Well I guess I underestimated In Ha yet again. I know he wants to make good by his son, but you’d think he’d be able to at least tell him to his face that he’s breaking up with Yoon Hee for him. It’ll be interesting to see how their respective moms react when they find out. As I’ve said, I know Yoon Hee will probably be fine, but Hye Jung looks displeased at the prospect. Now that In Ha and Yoon Hee are out of the picture, dealing with Hye Jung will probably be how they get through the next few episodes.

I’m really curious as to how they’re going to drag this out for another 8 episodes. I mean, the one biggest hurdle is out of the way already. They can’t really drag out the remainder of the drama with how they deal with Hye Jung can they? If this was an 18 or maybe even 20 episode drama, I could see that being the final hurdle for their relationship, but 24 is a huge stretch. I already feel like the overall developmental pace of the drama has slowed down compared to before, and this would just make things worse.

It still bothers me that they introduced Jeon Sul since he’s brought nothing to the story so far. He’s not even a useful side character like Cho Soo. Introducing new characters for the sake of having a new character seems dumb, so I’ll give the writer the benefit of the doubt and say that he has to reveal something down the line. I just can’t think of what that thing could be that only Jeon Sul would know and not something that Sun Ho could reveal.

Yeah hopefully it just cuts off at 20. I’m really anticipating Big, if for nothing else, I’m looking forward to see if Suzy improved from her performance in Dream High as much as Yoona improved in Love Rain. Also, Lee Min Jung is a huge bonus.

I love the confrontation between Joon & Hana. This is the scene where i understood where Hana is coming from. It explains why she has these push & pull acts towards Joon. I was also totally pulled with her crying scenes. The shifting of her vocal tones from anger, firmness, lost, painful, and fearful accompanied by tears was just WOW. YoonA’s definitely learning from the best JGS, LMS, & JJY.

The parallelism is also evident:

1970s – Separation was due to lies, cowardice, and friendship.
2012 – Separation due to filial love (Hana/Inha). Bravery in the end to face the risks of being together (Hana & Joon).